Is TUDCA Safe with Cyclosporine?
Free · No account · based on published sources including NIH ODS, FDA drug labels, and peer-reviewed literature
Do not initiate TUDCA supplementation without informing your transplant specialist. Cyclosporine levels should be monitored closely as bile acid transporters involved in TUDCA disposition overlap with cyclosporine hepatic uptake pathways.
Why this interaction occurs
TUDCA (Tauroursodeoxycholic acid) is a hydrophilic bile acid that modulates hepatic bile salt export pump (BSEP) and other hepatic transporters including OATP1B1 and OATP1B3. Cyclosporine is a known inhibitor of these same transporters and undergoes hepatic uptake via them. TUDCA may compete at transporter level, potentially altering cyclosporine hepatic exposure and overall pharmacokinetics.
Evidence
Evidence level: limited.
Reported safety data
The FDA’s adverse event reporting system (FAERS) has received 58,058 reports mentioning Cyclosporine. This reflects reported cases involving the medication in general — not confirmed causation, and not specific to the Cyclosporine + supplement combination on this page.
FAERS reports are voluntary and cannot prove that a drug caused an event. Do not use report counts to assess the safety of this specific drug-supplement pair.
Frequently asked questions
Related interactions
All TUDCA interactions → · All Cyclosporine interactions →
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Educational only — not medical advice.
Always confirm with your doctor or pharmacist.